My question is regarding the review of the security of energy supply. Will the Minister of State provide timelines to the House on when the review was provided to his office or to the Department and explain why there was a delay in publishing the review?

I thank the Minister of State for the response. I am flabbergasted that there has not been more detail as to why there was such a delay. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, stood here in June and gave a commitment to the House that the review would be published much sooner. It is a pity he is not here himself this morning and I am not sure of the reason for that. Yet, here we are heading into October and we have not seen the review yet. This is a long-running saga. There is a strong feeling in my constituency that this dela…

You can understand the scepticism of some people when they hear that response. They hear that the Minister told the House in June that he expected to be able to publish the review within the coming months and here we are heading into October and there is no sign of it. This was critical and played an integral part in the decision of An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning for Shannon LNG. The State has been opened up to potential litigation because of the process here. It does not sit well with me. This entire process …

Last Thursday, I raised the issue of cocaine use in our communities, and the normalisation of the use of cocaine that we have seen creep in in recent years. The reaction that I got over the weekend was one I did not expect. There was an enormous reaction. I received many very difficult phone calls from the heartbroken parents, spouses and siblings of people who have fallen into addiction and on the wrong side of drug dealers, and who have incurred major debts and encountered huge issues. It is that normalisation th…

I thank the Minister for her response. I commend her on all the work she is doing. I welcome the €7.7 million allocated to my county, Kerry, over the past six years. It involved 173 roads that previously were not done, which is important to the residents and farmers using those roads. For those people, they are the most important roads there are. There are hundreds more roads that need to be done. While 25 roads this year is very welcome, it will take many years to clear the list at the current rate. That is why I …

I know people in County Kerry who are No. 300 or 400 on the list. At the current rate of 25 per annum, which is a good year, it will still take so many years to get it done. I am under enormous pressure, as are other Deputies and councillors. If the council says it only has so much capacity to do X number of roads in the year, which is what I understand has been happening in recent years, and it has everything it looked for, can local authorities be given the option of additional funding and contracting the work ou…

I am anxious to know when the next round of successful CLÁR allocations will be announced. The CLÁR scheme has had a massive impact all over the country and the funding is very welcome for communities. If the Minister could update the House, I think everyone would be interested.

I thank the Minister. The announcement on the successful measure 1 and 3 projects is absolutely eagerly awaited. The Minister referred to the 2,100 projects that have been supported all over the country since the reintroduction of the programme back in 2016. Every single one of those projects is important in those communities. I raised the issue with the Minister during the summer. In my own locality, Keel GAA club has applied for funding to make safe the parking, drop-off and collection areas. It is one of the mos…

One of the really important features of the programme is that it is relatively small money in the overall scheme of things. However, the fundraising capacity of the communities to which this funding is delivered is quite limited. For example, Camp Community Council, which is not far from where I live, was in contact with me. It built a fabulous playground many years ago. It needs an upgrade and the council applied under measure 1. For them to raise €50,000 in a small rural community would take years and a lot of ha…

My question concerns West Kerry Community Hospital and efforts to get more beds for the hospital. It has been a long-running saga to try to get more beds opened in the hospital. Given the current number of bed versus what was originally envisaged, there is quite a difference between the numbers. We need assistance in getting more beds open.

I appreciate the Minister of State's response and the efforts being made. In recent years, we had the appalling images of a very elderly lady being moved out of a hospital far away from home, a place with which she had become familiar and was comfortable, because of a shortage of beds. This is the type of thing we do not want to see repeated. I raised it here at the time. I have been in constant contact with the HSE locally regarding efforts to recruit staff. I seem to be getting the same answers over and over, nam…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. Tá níos mó leapacha ag teastáil anonn. Caithfimid rudaí nua a dhéanamh chun banaltraí a fháil sa Daingean agus beidh na leapacha ag teastáil sa todhchaí. We will need those beds in the future. It is as simple as that. If the current recruitment processes are not working, we need to consider doing things differently. I am not being cynical but I must say that I keep getting the same answers back from the HSE, namely, answers referring to recruitment drives and efforts. At what po…

My question is about the availability of cocaine, the habit of the consumption of cocaine that has almost been normalised in recent years and creating awareness of its health implications. Quite frankly, I do not think the current policy is working because of the popularity of cocaine and how common cocaine use is. We need to do things differently.

The question is perhaps timely as we are running into the budgetary cycle. I do not see in mainstream media and across the board the type of awareness campaigns this problem needs. I acknowledge the figures the Minister of State has quoted. Certainly among some demographics, I think the figures are far worse than those she has quoted. Among our younger population, this is something that needs to be addressed. The short-term, medium-term and long-term consequences of cocaine use and abuse in some circumstances - to …

All forms of substance abuse, whether it is the top shelf I referred to earlier or drugs, must be called out. What worries me most is the normalisation of cocaine use we have seen in recent years. Speaking to young people in my constituency, it is accepted among some people that this is what is done at the weekend on a Friday or Saturday night. That is bonkers to me as someone who is only 20 years ahead of them in the life cycle. How have things changed so rapidly and drastically in that time? Certainly, when I was…

The Minister has been a very regular visitor to County Kerry since he came into his role, more than any other Minister. One of the very important visits he paid took place last November when he announced that the former Pretty Polly site in Killarney would be redeveloped as a centre of excellence for further education. Will he update the House on the progress on that project? What are the anticipated timelines?

I thank the Minister for his response, which is very encouraging. It is one of the most exciting projects there has been in the county for a long time. It symbolises rejuvenation and a form of renaissance for what was maybe a symbol of decline and failure, and a new era for Kerry and Killarney in particular. I thank the Minister for the effort he has put in to date and for his commitment to this project. I also thank all the stakeholders who have made a huge effort in getting it to where it is today. It is importan…

That is great. Of course these things take time. I remember when a bus leaving my parish took predominantly women to work in that Pretty Polly factory in the 1980s and 1990s. A week is a long time in politics but, at the same time, time goes pretty quickly too. It will take time. We have to be realistic but I have no doubt that when this project is completed, it will serve future generations very well, including workers and the overall industry. We make a massive effort across the board and across the community in …

Annagh Banks is a 14-unit development on the Inch-Dingle road out of Castlemaine. Anyone familiar with my part of the country would see it on the right-hand side as they are leaving Castlemaine. It has been unfinished for well over a decade. These houses would take very little work to get them over the line and become homes for people. Kerry County Council is preparing a turnkey application at the moment. My parliamentary assistant, Tommy Griffin, has engaged for a very long time with the owner of these properties …

In 2018, a man wrote down the abuse, the bullying and the cover-up that he alleges he endured at RTÉ when he was working there in the 1990s. He sent the information to Dee Forbes and he did not receive a response. He sent it to Moya Doherty, the then chair of the board, and did not receive a response. He also sent it to a HR executive board member and received a very unsatisfactory response. At the time, RTÉ was saying "The Truth Matters" and it was in vogue for the organisation to say it was going to give justice …